Sports 12-27-2018

WHS sports roundup

Lady Vikings edge

Lynn English, 40-37

The Winthrop High girls basketball team picked up a hard-fought victory, edging Lynn English, 40-37 in overtime, last Thursday at the WHS gym.

The contest started well for the Lady Vikings, who pitched a shutout with intense defensive pressure in the first quarter to take a 9-0 at the first buzzer against the visiting Lady Bulldogs.

Winthrop maintained its nine-point margin through the second period, taking a 20-11 lead at the half. However, the visitors came out strong after the intermission, led by its top scorer, Johnson (19 points on the night), who sank four three-pointers and two free throws in the period, to cut the Winthrop margin to one, 26-25, as the teams prepared for the final eight minutes of play.

The contest remained a defensive struggle in the fourth quarter, with English eventually knotting the score at 33-33 with two free throws in the waning seconds of regulation. Winthrop’s Lily Pulsifer was able to get off a half-court shot at the buzzer, but the ball hit the front of the rim.

The Lady Vikings switched their defense to a box-and-1 to try to keep the ball out of Johnson’s hands and the strategy paid off, with Winthrop outscoring English 7-4 in the OT session.

Maura Dorr led Winthrop in the scoring department with 19 points, including five in OT. Pulsifer hit for 11 points and Caroline Earl added nine, including two big free throws in the final 0.3 of overtime to seal the victory.

Two nights earlier, the Lady Vikings endured a heartbreaking 50-48 loss in overtime at Lynn Classical.

The contest was a close battle all the way, with Winthrop leading by one after one period and trailing by three, 22-19, at the intermission. The Lady Rams maintained  a slight edge at the third buzzer, 35-31, but the Lady Vikings switched to a man-to-man defense for the final period that held Classical to just eight points in the final eight minutes.

Earl hit for six points in the fourth period to lead the Winthrop comeback charge, but it was Pulsifer who tied the game at 43-43 when she drained a dramatic trey on a pass from Earl with 18 seconds to go to send the game into overtime.

Classical grabbed a quick lead to start the OT session, but Winthrop pulled within two, 50-48, led by Carolyn Kinsella, with 40 seconds on the clock. The Lady Vikings made a defensive stop and had a chance to send matters into a second overtime, but a shot by Dorr, who was draped by her defender, rolled around the rim and out at the buzzer.

Dorr led Winthrop with 15 points, followed by Earl with 12 (six in the fourth period), Kinsella with nine, and Pulsifer with five. Classical’s Crayton sisters struck for 14 and 10 points and Gupton-Morrison added 13.

Winthrop’s Grace Galuris dislocated her shoulder on an outlet pass early in the third quarter and was forced to leave the game.

Coach Rick Pulsifer and his crew were set to play this afternoon (Thursday) in the Pope John XXIII Christmas Tournament at 1:00 against No. Reading and then will play tomorrow at either 1 or 3 p.m. in either the consolation or championship game.

The Lady Vikings will travel to Somerville next Friday, Jan. 4.

Hat tricks by Carleton, Martucci power WHS girls to 6-3 victory

Senior captain Emma Carleton and freshman Mia Martucci both recorded natural hat tricks to pace the Winthrop High girls hockey team to a 6-3 victory over Northeastern Hockey League rival Marblehead last Wednesday evening at Larsen Rink.

The visiting Lady Magicians seized the initiative early in the opening period, but the Lady Vikings struck back with a vengeance, reaching the back of the Marblehead four times before the sound of the first horn.

Martucci first delivered her hat trick, with assists going to Olivia Driscoll, Elle English, and Abby Stafford, and  Carleton potted the first of her three goals, to leave matters at 4-1 after the first period.

Marblehead scored early in the second period, but Carleton scored her second to keep the visitors at bay, 5-2, at the second intermission.

The Lady Magicians cut the lead to 5-3 early in the final period, but Carleton sealed the deal for Winthrop with her third goal for the 6-3 finale.

“Emma scored three beautiful goals,” said WHS head coach Anthony Martucci. “She is a lead-by-example type player. She simply flies around and makes plays.”

As for the hat trick by Martucci, her coach said, “Mia is playing well for us right now. She worked very hard in the off-season to be ready, and so far it has paid off, as she has nine points in three games.”

Martucci also praised the play of other members of his front lines. “Other forwards who are really standing out are Olivia Driscoll, Julia and Emma Holmes, Syd Mignosa, and Mia Norris. They are all going for us, playing a ton of minutes, and really working hard every shift of every game.”

Martucci also lauded the performance of Winthrop goalie Summer Tallent, who finished the game with 16 saves. “Summer is playing awesome in net for us,” said the coach. “She is the ultimate competitor and an exceptional athlete.”

The double-hat trick by Lady Vikings Carleton and Martucci offset the hat trick by the Lady Magicians’ star, Sydney Cresta,

“This was a was a nice conference win for us,” said Martucci. “Marblehead has one of the premier players in the state in Sydney Cresta. She is the real deal and is very hard to stop. So we just tried to slow her down. Our defense did a great job of keeping her from taking over the game. She did have a hat trick, but it was a very quiet one. Bella Perotti, Abby Stafford, Elle English, Kayla Morrill, Liv Holmes, Abby Holmes, and Brooke Costin did a great job all game long.”

Martucci and his crew, who now stand at 3-0 on the season, host Falmouth (Maine) today (Thursday). Face-off is set for 3:30 at Larsen.

The Lady Vikings will travel to NEC rival Peabody on Saturday and will engage in a  home-and-home series with non-league foe Watertown on Monday (at Watertown) and on Wednesday (at Larsen at 6:10).

 

Boys hockey trounces Peabody, hosts Falmouth (ME) today at Larsen at  6:00

The Winthrop High boys hockey team gave coach Dale Dunbar an early Christmas present with a 10-1 rout of Peabody this past Saturday at Larsen Rink in the opener of the Vikings’ Northeastern Conference North Division schedule.

Dunbar and his crew will entertain Falmouth (Maine) today (Thursday) at 6:00 as part of a doubleheader with the WHS girls’ team.

The Vikings, who now are 3-1 overall, will return to NEC play Saturday against Lynn at Larsen at 1:30 and will trek to Medford Wednesday after the New Year.

 

Girls JV team

defeats Classical

Coach Ben Cimmino’s WHS girls junior varsity basketball team played well in its two contests this past week.

A 28-21 loss to Lynn Classical last Tuesday was a close battle all the way, with Winthrop leading 8-7 after the first period, but trailing 13-12 at the half and 21-18 after three periods, before falling by a final score of 28-21.

Sophomores Polina Bell and Lily Skomro led Winthrop in the scoring department with five points apiece and freshman Samantha Galuris added four.

In a 38-26 loss to Lynn English two nights later, the Lady Vikings fell behind early thanks to a full-court trap defense by English, leaving Winthrop trailing 16-4 at the first buzzer.

However, the Lady Vikings flipped the script in the second period and were able to beat the trap of English and apply their own full court trap to draw within 20-16 at the half.

However, the Winthrop offense struggled after the intermission and trailed 34-19 at the third buzzer,  a deficit the junior Lady Vikings were unable to overcome. Freshman MacKenzie Acevedo hit for double figures with 10 points and freshman Samantha Galuris added five.

 

WHS girls, boys track

race against Somerville

The Winthrop High girls and boys indoor track & field team competed against Somerville last Tuesday.

Four Lady Vikings captured first place in their individual events against the Lady Highlanders: Marykate Pote with a shot put toss of 29’-8”; Daniella Zanelli with a 50 yard high hurdles sprint of 8.5 seconds; Camilla Miranda Llovera in the mile in 5:59; and Kat Thano in the two mile with a clocking of 16:35.

Adding three points to the Winthrop scoresheet with second-place efforts were: Nora McCarey in the 300 dash in 45.4; Devon Barry in the 600 in 3:49; and Mary Teixiera in the two mile in 17:21.

Scoring single points with third-place performances were: Emily Creador with a shot put throw of 20’-7”; Clare Nargi in the hurdles in 8.8; Sonia Dahlquist in the 300 in 1:51.3; Ella McCarey in the 1000 in 3:50.3; and Brianna Marley with a 6:34 in the mile.

The WHS 4 x 400 relay team came across in a time of 4:48.5 to edge their Somerville counterparts by 1.1 second.

The final tally showed the Lady Vikings falling short by the close score of 45-40.

On the boys’ side, Cormac MacPhail, Ryan Buccini,  and Pat Haskell were the top performers, taking second place in their individual events. Cormac grabbed second in the mile in 5:10, Ryan took second in the 300 dash in 40.9, and Pat did likewise in the 600 in 1:31.

Three Vikings took third place in their races: Cam Martin (9.2 in the hurdles), Bobby Hubert (5.7 in the 50 dash), and Ian Harris (42.3 in the 300 dash).

Both the boys and girls teams will meet Saugus next Thursday.